Three More Notable Social Network Raves

While David Edelstein, who reports for CBS News Sunday Morning, gave The Social Network a mostly positive review, his was the first that criticized the film publicly for not being “fair” or truthful to Mark Zuckerberg. He also seemed to take offense at the notion (not put forth by the filmmakers, of course) that the film “defines the decade.” No one would ever assume this film would define David Edelstein’s experience of the decade. To me, it isn’t the decade. It is right now. And it’s what’s coming. More than that, though, it’s about the things technology can never and will never change: our nature as human beings.

Like with Inception, it took a little while for critics to start reacting to the reaction, which is what you will start seeing now. Still, a 98% rating at Metacritic is fairly astonishing. No, reviews don’t decide what film wins the Oscar, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Both the hard-to-please Stephanie Zacharek for Movieline and David Denby for the New Yorker have joined the chorus of praise of The Social Network. Denby’s is more than a review – it’s a three page essay on the impact of David Fincher on American cinema. It’s a significant impact, as it turns out. Denby’s is the most interesting read of them all.

The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Philips heads up the “good but not great” mantra, and the Village Voice’s J Hoberman probably gives the film its most negative review by a critic. So far anyway.